This release is part of a rolling series from the Governor’s Office, showcasing a cross-section of laws taking effect in 2025. Stay tuned for more updates about other new laws over the coming days.

What you need to know: These laws taking effect in 2025 will help fight property and retail crime by providing new tools to crack down on retail theft, smash-and-grab robberies, and more.

SACRAMENTO - As the new year soon begins, California continues its forward momentum with a new set of laws signed by Governor Newsom that improve the health, safety, and well-being of all Californians.

“California’s new laws tackle today’s biggest emerging challenges head-on. Through partnership with the Legislature, we’re strengthening public safety, building more housing, and providing more resources for our communities. These practical reforms protect what matters most while creating more opportunities for all Californians.” - Governor Gavin Newsom 

Cracking down on retail theft and property crime 

Among the most significant changes coming in 2025 is California’s landmark package to combat property and retail crime – the most substantial legislation of its kind in modern state history. This bipartisan set of laws, announced last August, provides robust new tools to crack down on retail theft, smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, and auto burglaries while holding criminals accountable. 

Aggregation 

• AB 2943 by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles) allows aggregation of the value of property stolen from different victims or in different counties in order to reach the felony grand theft threshold of $950.  

• SB 905 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) allows aggregation of the value of property stolen from vehicles over multiple acts, in order to charge a person with automotive property theft for resale. 

Shoplifting and petty theft 

• AB 2943. Allows an officer with probable cause to arrest a person for shoplifting, even if the act did not take place in the officer’s presence.  

• AB 2943. Doubles permissible probation period for shoplifting and for petty theft from one year to two years. Allows defendants under 25 to be referred to rehabilitative programs. 

•  AB 3209 by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) allows a court to issue a “retail theft restraining order” prohibiting a person convicted of organized retail theft, shoplifting, theft, vandalism, or assault of a retail employee from entering the establishment, or other locations of the same establishment, for up to two years. 

Retail and Cargo theft

• AB 2943. Creates a new crime punishable by up to three years in jail, for possessing more than $950 of stolen goods with intent to sell, exchange, or return the goods. Facilitates prosecution by eliminating the need for DAs to prove that a defendant knew the goods were stolen.

• AB 1802 by Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) eliminates the sunset date for the crime of organized retail theft and the sunset date for the highly-successful regional property crimes task force. 

• AB 2943. Extends, until January 1, 2031, a law that prevents suspects of organized retail theft from being released with just a signed promise to appear in court. 

• SB 1416 by Senator Josh Newman (D-Grand Terrace) mandates sentencing enhancements for large-scale resale of property. 

• AB 1972 by Assemblymember Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) adds cargo theft to the list of property crimes that regional property crimes task forces may address. 

Increased penalties for smash & grabs 

• SB 1242 by Senator Dave Min (now Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives) mandates higher penalties for thieves who set fires to facilitate organized retail theft. 

• AB 1960 by Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) establishes mandatory sentencing enhancements for taking, damaging, or destroying property over $50K during the commission of a felony. 

Vehicle theft & online sales 

• SB 905 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). Removes the locked door loophole for automotive property thefts. 

• SB 1144 by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Alameda) requires online platforms to collect information about all “high-volume third-party sellers,” in order to combat fencing of stolen goods. 

Government response 

• AB 1779 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) permits the consolidation of theft charges and associated offenses occurring in different counties into a single criminal case. 

• AB 2943. Protects retailers from being cited or fined for repeatedly reporting retail theft. 

Why it matters: These changes give law enforcement and prosecutors new tools to tackle organized theft and protect local businesses. Now police can better stop repeat offenders, while prosecutors have more power to hold thieves accountable - especially when dealing with organized retail crime rings that operate across city and county lines.

The laws also create tougher consequences for smash-and-grab robberies that damage stores, stricter oversight of online marketplaces where stolen goods are sold, and stronger protections against car break-ins. By closing old loopholes and maintaining successful enforcement programs, these reforms help ensure safer neighborhoods and more secure businesses.